Sarah Vs Charles Carmichael
by Poetic4U
Summary: AU. It was hard to believe that Charles Carmichael is a government trained operative. He comes off like a person though. Normal. Not at all hardened by the life they led and to Sarah's own surprise, she found him interesting.
1. Chapter 1: Introduction

**Sarah Vs. Charles Carmichael**

**Author's Note**: This is my first venture in Chuck fan fiction. The title is hardly original, I apologize for that. I thought I'd give it a try and see where this leads me. This won't really be a long story. I've actually been working on it for a while and was unsure if I wanted to post it. It's one of those scenarios where it's swimming in your head and it won't go away until you jot it down. If anything, this one can actually end as a one-shot.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own any of this.

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Introduction<strong>

"So who exactly are we meeting?" Sarah asked.

"Once in a while, they pair me up with this particular person because they say, and I quote, it promotes _inter-agency cooperation_." Carina explained with air quotes. "But frankly, he's the only CIA agent I can bare working with. Present company excluded, of course."

"Of course." Sarah smirked. "Anyone I know?"

"Carmichael." Carina replied. "He's sickeningly sweet and polite. It gives me cavities."

Sarah stopped short. "Carmichael? This wouldn't happen to be Charles Carmichael, is it?"

Carina smiled with a grin. "The very same. You know him?"

Sarah shook her head. "Only by reputation… and rumors."

"He's a bit unorthodox, which suits me just fine by the way. Gets along with everybody. And I do mean _everybody_. It's a blessing and a curse."

Sarah tilted her head, not understanding.

"Boyish grin. Funny. Crazy smart." Carina listed Agent Carmichael's traits with each lift of a finger. "Deceptively attractive and _boy_, he's got a great bedside manner."

Sarah looked both amused and unconvinced. "You sound suspiciously in love."

"Please!" Carina scoffed offhandedly. "Going on three years and he's still not taking the bait."

Sarah's eyebrows raised a fraction. Carina didn't sleep with every attractive man she meets, but when she does set her eyes on one, it was assuredly a done deal. "Three years, huh? Okay, now I'm impressed."

"Tease me now but just you wait."

"Is he gay?"

"I wish." Carina looked downright disappointed at her failed attempts at seducing her mild-mannered and occasionally shy partner. "My ego wouldn't be so bruised if he was."

Sarah chuckled.

"Five minutes." Carina warned. "Five minutes with him Walker, you'd fall for him too."

"I highly doubt it."

Suddenly, Carina's faced changed from playful to joy as she saw the man of the hour. "Speak of the devil—"

"Or angel." Sarah cut in.

Carina ignored her. "Well there's his adorable tall self now." She didn't point to his location, simply opting to sprint right pass her.

Sarah was unsure what to make of Carina's relationship with this Agent. Instead of judging though, she turned to see her DEA friend make her way across the street and uncharacteristically launch herself at a tall dark-haired man. He spun her 360 degrees, giving Sarah a glimpse of his face and took a moment to assess.

He had a kind face.

The kind of face assets and marks would believe anything they were told. Open and welcoming. Physically, he was definitely tall and lean, with a swimmers build. He was dressed casually in a light blue dress shirt, three buttons left open creating a v-neck style. He wore his shirt tucked in beneath black trousers. His dark head of hair a little bit longer (with slight curls no less) than the short trimmed or cropped hair that most of her male peers prefer. Completing the ensemble were shoes she'd never seen a grown man in their profession wear.

_Converse?_ She believed they were called.

Furthermore, she was uncertain what to expect so naturally, she hadn't been prepared when the elusive Agent Charles Carmichael released Carina and spotted her walking slowly halfway through the street with a disarming smile adorned on his face. With it, carrying a look of genuineness that she didn't come across often in their line of work.

As a spy, cynicism, caution and an unhealthy dose of paranoia was the norm. Agents trained in the field that more often than not, work alone, do not trust anyone. Completing the mission was paramount from anything and everything else. It was all about survival. And if they did trust, it was never very easily. It's a difficult life and only habitable for a chosen few.

Before she knew it, Carina practically dragged Agent Carmichael to meet her the rest of the way.

"Less than a minute, Walker." Carina said smugly, catching Sarah's reaction. "I massively underestimated him."

Sarah glared at her but said nothing.

Meanwhile, Chuck stared at both women looking obviously confused by the quick one-sided exchange. Reminding himself that Ellie raised a gentleman, he pushed back the awkwardness and held his right hand, introducing himself.

"Hi. I'm Chuck."

_Chuck?_ Sarah thought oddly.

Sarah shook his hand politely. "Sarah. I didn't realize parents still named their kids Chuck."

Instead of looking embarrassed, he laughed, the opposite reaction that Sarah expected.

"My parents were sadists. But Carina here was kind enough to make me one of her own in the meantime."

Carina beamed. "You better believe it."

Sarah tried to shake the smile that threatened to escape her face but it was futile. Carina really wasn't kidding. In her world, she'd known charmers. They inhabited their sphere, and they come in droves. Good people or bad people. Some more than others. Charles, or as he preferred, Chuck, came off possibly as a rarity. Someone who didn't work to charm others, but does, in fact come across as charming. The latter group was normally oblivious to their affect on people. She can sort of understand why Carina doesn't mind his company.

"Oh, before we forget Sarah, let Chuck take a look at your phone." Carina turned to Chuck. "She's always breaking it."

Sarah's eyes narrowed. "It's no problem. I can stop by someplace to get it fixed."

"I don't mind." Chuck said. "Let me take a look."

Sarah handed her phone to him reluctantly, causing Chuck to laugh once more. "Don't worry, I'm only looking at the hardware. Your secrets are safe from me." He smiled before leading them to an empty table in front of a cafe along the side of the street. He sat down and popped open the back of her cell phone. "Ah, the Intelicell." Chuck noticed. "Yeah, this model actually has a little screw that pops loose in the back here." Sarah didn't even see how a mini screwdriver suddenly appeared out of thin air held assuredly in his hand. "Just go ahead and give it a couple of quick turns, and it's good as new."

He hands it back to her, fixed and ready. It actually made her feel like an idiot, which did not happen often… or ever.

"Thank you." Sarah said, annoyingly flabbergasted. Her training though kept her from revealing it.

"No problem."

Carina was getting bored now. "You done playing the Guyver now?" She spoke impatiently.

Chuck sighed. "It's MacGyver, Carina."

"Same thing."

"No, it's really not. What's the point of TV marathons if you're not paying attention."

Sarah felt the need to side with Carina and even wondered how Chuck even convinced her often volatile and unpredictable friend to a marathon that didn't involve physical strenuous exercise.

"I don't really know what either of them are."

Beyond the nightly news and CNN, watching for pure entertainment was few and far between. Her upbringing as a con man's daughter and then becoming a CIA operative left little room to immerse herself in the world of popular culture and the seemingly endless amount of shows that populate the airwaves.

At the same time, Chuck's eyes widened, looking aghast. It was like he found the Dead Sea Scroll and didn't much like what it revealed.

"You ladies are missing out."

It was hard to believe that this man is a government trained operative. Rumored to have one of the highest mission success rates in the Agency that also involved minimal-to-surprisingly-low casualty reports. Agent Charles Carmichael up until this point, at least to Sarah, was a ghost. His name was banded about but no one she knew had really met the man in person. If they had, they probably hadn't realized who he was. He comes off like a person though. Normal. Not at all hardened by the life they led.

The revelation was shocking.

And to Sarah's own shocked surprise, she found him interesting.

Compelling.

An Enigma.

With devastating realization, Charles Carmichael was possibly turning out to be way out of her league.

**To possibly be continued...**


	2. Chapter 2: Rescue

**Author's Notes**: Thank you for all your kind comments. It felt like one big welcome party. Hope you enjoy this update.

**Disclaimer**: Still don't own anything.

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: Rescue<strong>

Sarah wanted to kill Bryce, but considering that they were rotting in a South American rebel camp away from civilization inside a cage that was no fit for even an animal, she decided to postpone her angry homicidal thoughts from coming to fruition. They've gotten involved in a lot of crazy situations, mostly because her partner had a habit of going into a mission half-cocked. As amazing an operative Bryce Larkin is with his smarts, athleticism and street savvy thinking, his over-confidence can sometimes lead them astray.

Tired, dehydrated and more than a little bruised, she was extremely annoyed that her partner's lack of forethought got them caught.

"Are you really going to give me the silent treatment?" Bryce whispered in the dark.

Like he even had to ask.

"I said I was sorry," he apologized for the third time since they've been caught and herded into cages like livestock.

"Not right now, Bryce."

She was always a woman of few words.

"We'll get out of this, I promise."

Bryce's promises have as much worth than her father's and that wasn't a lot. They've been partners for going on two years. Entangled romantically for less than that. With every mission assigned to them it was becoming glaringly clear that they were too much alike. She supposed that was why they were still together.

He was familiar. They had a lot in common professionally and their cover allowed them some semblance of realism that aided their relationship. In her own way, she loved him but knew without a doubt that she wasn't _in love _which made mixing work and play easier. They were the best in their field and they got the job done. Except she could never visualize them in the long-term and she suspected that he felt the same.

Although she doubted he would ever voice it aloud.

What they had was so easy, carrying none of the secrets, lies and stress that would be dominantly present had they chosen normal people to date.

"Trust me, Sarah. I have a plan." Bryce whispered again through a tiny opening in his small prison.

Sarah sighed. "Fine, Bryce. And what exactly is this plan?"

"Sent an SOS to that friend of mine with our general location. He'll find us."

That _friend_ Bryce was referring to had always bothered her. Bryce never spoke his real his name and she didn't think she ever met him but somehow, this mysterious contact of his has managed to help them in some of their more close-call missions in the past. At first she thought maybe he was some gifted analyst at Langley but then there was that one mission in Afghanistan last year when an unknown but welcomed operative provided cover fire while they escaped, which told her that he's field trained. She hadn't seen his face, only the glint of his sniper scope in the far distance.

There was also that time where his same 'friend' provided tech support in Malaysia where she and Bryce got lost in a maze of hallways of one of the most highly secured buildings of an enemy target. No communication occurred beyond the flashing lights that directed their steps, leading them to eventually complete the mission and escape.

Bryce had grinned with a lot of pride and said, 'My friend is doing that.'

She had rolled her eyes in response.

It worried her at one point that this friend of his was some free agent or mercenary but Bryce had allayed her fears claiming with seriousness he doesn't often reveal unless in really dire circumstances, "I trust him with my life, Sarah. I don't trust anyone else to watch our backs better than him."

That ended her concern about _the friend_.

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><p>While waiting for Bryce's plan to come through, captivity tends to stretch the time longer and Sarah craved for any type of food that didn't contain insects, as well dreaming of a shower and a bed that wasn't intent on destroying her back when a familiar voice suddenly caught her off guard.<p>

"You just had to improvise on what I assume was a perfectly good plan."

A very familiar voice. It can't be.

_Chuck?_

No way.

"We had bad Intel." Bryce jovially defended himself. "Besides, it seemed like the thing to do at the time. What the hell took you so long?" He whispered. "We're starving."

"You could use a bath while you're at it, too. But I did bring your favorite cheeseburger. You owe me, it wasn't easy bringing it along."

The situation became entirely too surreal that she didn't even notice the hand tapping her shoulder.

"Sarah, is that you?"

Sarah cleared her throat as quietly as possible. It was dark and neither of them could see each others faces but she knew she was facing Agent Charles Carmichael.

"Uh… yes."

Bryce's voice wafted in. "Wait a minute, you met Sarah? When did that happen?"

"Briefly once." "A few months ago." They both answered in unison.

"You never told me?"

"You were too busy getting yourself caught and tortured, when would I have time to tell you?" Chuck bristled good-naturedly.

The camaraderie between the two was unexpected. They were talking like a couple of gossiping teenagers when in reality; they were in foreign soil with bad guys itching to kill them. It all felt very unreal.

"Okay, boys." Even locked up, Sarah Walker cleared her head and took charge of the situation before this unprecedented banter between two grown men degenerate their IQ's completely. "You've got a lot of explaining to do, but in the meantime, Chuck, get us out of here."

"Yes, ma'am."

There was a pause while she waited for the escape to begin.

"Um… Sarah?"

"What?"

"I brought you a burger too, did you want it?"

Sarah hadn't even realized that he'd gotten her something edible to eat along with Bryce until she felt it in her hands.

Having nothing else to say, she settled with, "Oh."

* * *

><p>Free from that sorry excuse of a cell, the three of them quietly made their way out of the camp. Since Chuck was the least weakened person in their three-man group, he took the lead, silently guiding them through the underbrush and into the jungle.<p>

We were so intent on not getting caught, Bryce stepped on a twig, snapping it in half, and its sound reverberating in the area.

"Shh." Chuck signaled with two fingers, his hand then falling forward into the direction just to the right of us.

Sarah spotted them immediately.

Two men. Armed. Speaking in their native tongue. She and Bryce nodded as they went about to take care of the armed scouts. After subduing them quickly and hiding their bodies away from their camps view, we met back together at our previous location only to find Chuck hauling two additional rebels, laying them side by side. Both unconscious.

Bryce was the first to speak. "Where did they come from?"

"They must've heard that incredibly loud foot stomp you made. Don't worry, they'll live."

Bryce huffed. "Not really all that concerned for their welfare, buddy."

"We gotta move." Chuck removed a compass from his side pocket. "Head 4 clicks northeast. You'll hit a river. I stored a couple of things there you'll need underneath a bed or rock that looks like a potato head and then follow the river south."

"Seriously?" Bryce said.

Sarah thought the exact same thing.

"Wait, what are you going to do?"

"The guards change shift. They'll know you're missing. Gotta mislead them. The downside of working against natives is many of them know their away around the jungle. You guys need to go. We'll rendezvous at the edge of the cliff in two hours."

"I am _not_ leaving you here, Chuck." Bryce said.

"I agree."

"Trust me. I know what I'm doing. Now go before I end up leaving you two behind and going home to a nice warm bath, gourmet dinner with all the wine and cheese I could possibly eat."

"Fine." Bryce submitted easily and Sarah looked between the two men incredulously.

"Are you two always like this?"

"Yes." They both responded.

* * *

><p>"That was fun." Bryce exclaimed, happy to be back in civilization.<p>

Or as close to one as our group could get since we were still on the same country. When she and Bryce reached the river, they found the gear Chuck had hidden for them. To their surprise, it was a couple of wingsuits. Without dwelling on what we would be using it for, we followed Chuck's instructions and made our way south. When we reached the end of the cliff, the sun had just started to rise and Chuck's plan become glaringly clear.

"He didn't!" Bryce said, rather happy about what's to come and he overlooked the bluff. The height had to be at least a thousand feet high from the ground.

Roughly half an hour later, we see Chuck sprinting towards us, the sounds of gun fire in his wake and then a sudden explosion. "Diversion didn't work!" he yelled. "Jump. NOW!"

Without even thinking, training kicked and all three of us took a hell of a leap without further notice.

We glided through the air, the distance between us and our captors grew wider until they were nothing but a spec. Like before, Chuck took the lead and we followed. He pointed at a small field, opened his chute and then finally touched down on mortal soil.

It's good to be alive.

"Now that was an escape!"

Sarah would normally roll her eyes at Bryce but even she had to admit, it was an adrenaline fueled escape that ended up to be a little fun.

"You two all right?" Chuck asked, concern evident in his voice.

"A few bruises, but nothing serious." She turned to her partner. "You?"

Bryce looked at himself, even patting various locations on his body to double check. "Nope. All in one piece."

"Good." Chuck said before nodding behind us. "There's our ride."

After that, things went a little more smoothly. Chuck had directed them to a safe house when they snuck their way into one of the countries' more crowded cities. It allowed them time to recover, however briefly. During the jeep ride and even after they arrived at the safe house, Sarah said very little while her partner and Chuck traded quips and jabs that most went over her head. She hadn't realized until then how geeky Bryce Larkin really was.

She was angry with him… actually, she was angry at both men but for entirely different reasons.

When Bryce noticed her passive attitude. "You're mad at me."

"What gave you that idea?"

"Look. I'm sorry for not telling you about him before, but I really didn't think it mattered so long as we got out alive."

"I'm just confused as to why there's so much secrecy around him with you."

_And everybody else it seems_, she added as an afterthought.

Bryce crossed his arms and stared distantly away. "It's a bit complicated." He looked back to her. "When did you two meet?"

Sarah worked hard not to deck him for not answering her question first and then turning around and having the audacity to send a question back at her. "Carina introduced us a few months ago while you were convalescing."

Bryce nodded not needing any further information. With her mood unchanged, he left her to her privacy.

She remembered those months. He had been recovering from a gunshot wound to the leg when she decided to pay a visit to her one constant friend.

After meeting Chuck, she actually hoped they were going to work together with whatever scheme Carina had up her sleeve. She'd been curious to see what Chuck was like on the field. See wanted to know if he really is as good as the rumors claimed. To her disappointment, it turned out Carina was looking for some Intel on a drug trafficker in the area. There had been an odd moment when his eyes froze and flickered. Then he reached into his pocket and popped open a bottle of Tylenol and apologized for the migraine he just experienced and any further thought of the strange occurrence fled from her mind.

Beyond that, Chuck had proved very informative, providing us with associate names and locations and practically the entire dossier of the man Carina was searching for. He was like a living breathing search engine without all the hassle. How he was even privy to the information not necessarily in their jurisdiction was lost on her.

When she questioned it, Carina simply shrugged and said, "He's Chuck." As if it explained everything.

Presently, Sarah attempted to relax in her crappy room staring aimlessly through the blanketed cover hole that was supposed to be a window. It was dark out and two out of three of them needed to recover briefly before they had to head out of the safe house to meet the extraction team that would bring them back to their native soil.

"He's protective, you know."

Sarah was startled out of the silence. With her gun gripped tightly within her grasp, she spun around to see Chuck by the doorway, looking sheepish for interrupting her and maybe a little frightened that he might get shot.

"Sorry." He apologized.

Sarah was not that hardened enough of a spy not to notice the error of her ways. She lowered her weapon, her eyes avoiding his and staring at some random spot on the wall beside him.

"Me too." She said, gathering her bearings. "What did you say?"

"Bryce." Chuck explained softly. Tentatively. "He's very protective of me. A side affect that transferred from college."

Sarah's mouth fell slightly open. "You two—"

"Went to college together? Yeah." Sarah looked surprised at the revelation but he was determined to mend the uncomfortable situation he inadvertently found himself in when he rescued them. "Joined the fraternity and everything." He went to a nearby chair and sat down while continuing in a quiet voice. "Believe it or not, he was actually terrified for me at the thought of being recruited."

Sarah found that hard to believe when she considered his reputation, but Chuck seemed totally unaware of 'said' reputation. Instead, he grinned.

"It's true. He even tried to find ways to stop my recruitment. Almost got me kicked out of school for it too until he found out my recruitment was about two years too late."

"Why are you telling me this?" she asked warily.

"It's hard not to notice the tension. And I'm a little neurotic so I thought it may had something to do with me."

Sarah didn't say anything to refute the claim. Instead, "Why did he try to kick you out?" It didn't sound like something that Bryce would do to a friend he obviously admires.

Chuck's answer was quick and firm. "Because he cared."

Sarah didn't think she could do the same had the situation been her with such an obtuse statement.

"And you forgave him?"

"Of course! He's my best friend." Chuck defended Bryce sincerely. "I knew where he was coming from and I understood what could happen if I joined. I trust him with my life, Sarah."

Sarah stared, a feeling of envy drifting through her. Bryce had described Chuck the same way. How many people could she claim with absolute certainty that would do that for her? That knew her well enough to deserve such blind faith and trust. To know that she could go to someone and never have to question their loyalty, and vice-versa. The idea seemed unreal, yet the possibility sounded incredibly tantalizing.

It also explained so much of the past two years with Bryce, and why her partner kept referring back to the friend that, as far as her knowledge goes, have never let him down.

"Did you know I was his partner?"

"Yes."

She expected a lie so Chuck's honestly threw her.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Uh… I found you to be a bit intimidating actually. Doesn't help one bit that you're… You know—"

No, she really didn't.

"Really beautiful." He completed.

The comment caught her off-guard while Chuck looked positively embarrassed. He cleared his throat.

"I should let you get some rest. Bryce is out like a light and you're just as tired. I'll keep watch and wake you when it's time to go."

Sarah was unaccustomed to being cared for by whom is essentially, a stranger. But there was something about Chuck she couldn't help but trust. In the end, her exhaustion both physically and mentally caused her defeat, and before she knew it, she let her eyes fall into a dreamless sleep.

**To be Continued...**


	3. Chapter 3: Intersect

**Author's Notes**: My chapters tend to jump forward, and I may not likely acknowledge prior but it does become clear what the general timeline is when you read along. As for the POVs, I apologize for that. When I write I tend to forget and move back and forth so it can get jarring for some readers. POVs will change if you see a line break. Thanks for the comments and I'll try to be mindful of some of the things that were addressed. This is my last update for the week, so I'll check back again next Wednesday.

**Disclaimer**: Same old. Same old.

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: Intersect<strong>

LOS ANGELES, CA - DNI

"Agent Walker, I'd like you to meet General Beckman. Head of NSA's Covert Operations."

Within what was left of the DNI, Sarah greeted General Beckman with a curt nod before turning her attention to the man that had recruited her. The same man that removed her from her old life and introduced her into the new.

Around them was the charred remains of what she gathered was a highly secret government base that housed a super computer of some kind.

"We didn't want to brief you in the air." Direct Langston Graham spoke. "But there's been a situation. You're former partner, Agent Larkin, was operating deep cover on a separate mission for the last several months."

Sarah's brows rose, a feeling of dread settled in her stomach. Her partnership with Bryce ended shortly after their South American mission a year ago but every now and then, they kept in touch. Even though their intimate relationship came to its eventual conclusion, she considers him to be one of very few people she could call a friend. The thought he may be dead left an unwelcome feeling inside her.

"Are you aware of a project called Intersect?" Director Langston asked.

Sarah thought back to her years since joining the Agency and recalled one brief segment of her life where she remembered hearing the word.

"Yes. A few years ago. Whispered about during my time in Project Omaha but nobody seemed to know what that operation was really about. Nor exactly what the Intersect really is."

General Beckman stepped forward and took over, not at all looking happy at the revelation.

"Project Omaha was the front name for the Intersect Project. The fact you even heard of it is cause for concern." Off Sarah's confusion, the General proceeded to explain. "It's a computer. After 9/11, D.C. wanted us to work together, and sharing information with other agencies. As a result, the Intersect Computer was activated. It combines the Intel of every U.S. Intelligence Agency in operation and searches for links and patterns to terrorist connections and possible threats."

Sarah nodded, following so far. "What was Bryce's mission?"

"Larkin was recruited by a rogue group of agents that called themselves Fulcrum." Director Langston answered. "He kept a low profile, but the deeper he was involved he made steps to notify me of his discoveries. Since then, he's been imbedded as a double agent."

Sarah took a deep breath and steadied herself. "And where is Bryce now, sir?"

"He's currently being housed in a private medical facility, off the books. He's injured, Agent Walker. We couldn't risk using normal protocols with rogue agents possibly monitoring his whereabouts."

"So he's alive?"

"Yes."

Sarah let out a sigh of relief. "And the Intersect?"

"Destroyed." Director Graham replied grimly.

"There's no back-up?"

"The Intersect is a highly sensitive piece of hardware worth millions of dollars. It doesn't come off an assembly line, Agent Walker." General Beckman said with no hint of amusement whatsoever.

Sarah's back straightened. "Then why am I here?"

"We've been compromised. We want as few people to know about the existence of the Intersect. Director Langston holds you in high regards and believes you can be trusted. In other words, you've been reassigned and will be working with a new team. This won't be a short excursion. You're addition may well be long-term."

Sarah nodded and then turned to her Director, curbing the surge of adrenaline for being assigned to a dangerous new mission.

"Just so we're clear, there is no physical back-up for the Intersect. Knowing how dangerous it would be in the hands of any of our enemies, let alone Fulcrum, Bryce made sure it was destroyed." Director Langston then sighed. "It was a last case scenario if they ever went after it. The proof is around us." He gestured to the surrounding room. "But the people that do know, and it's not many, is that there is another Intersect but one you or any other would least expect."

Sarah prepared herself for what was next when Director Langston handed her a single photo. It shouldn't have come as any surprise but still, the _familiar_ face staring back at her garnered a wide-eyed reaction. The fact that Chuck kept appearing in her life during unexpected times didn't help.

"Chuck." She looked up at both her superiors. "I don't understand. He has the back-up?"

"No, this project was initially designed to be implemented into the heads of field agents, giving operatives the upper hand in terrorist intelligence while on missions." General Beckman started once again. "The project was a failure as soon as test trials began. Until Carmichael, no one has successfully uploaded the information without negative results."

They were stepping out from what's real to the science fiction.

"Are you saying that Chu…" She stopped herself short and corrected herself. "… Agent Carmichael has a computer in his head?" The idea was as ludicrous as it sounds but this was the 21st century and anything is possible at this point.

"Yes, that's exactly what we're saying." Director Langston confirmed.

"What happened to the others?"

"Test trials from Agency volunteers proved dangerous. All but Carmichael either caused fatality or insanity. You're prior interaction and current knowledge of his existence has now upgraded you're security clearance level. You understand this means total secrecy unless approved by myself or General Beckman?"

Sarah stared at Chuck's photo both in dread and awe.

"What are my orders?"

The Director looked pleased. "Good. You'll rendezvous with Agent Carmichael in Burbank." He hands her a small envelope containing all the relevant information. "Details are in here. And you'll be introduced to your third team member after you make contact."

"And Bryce?"

"He'll be isolated and protected until he's recovered. We'll proceed from there. Good luck Agent Walker."

XXX

BURBANK, CA – BUYMORE PLAZA

The meeting was at the last place she expected to be. Regardless, Sarah Walker was alert the moment she stepped into the electric double sliding doors of the Buymore. Her eyes automatically scanned for all possible exits while giving a quick peripheral view for anything out of the ordinary.

Near the back wall, she sees a commotion. A gathering of customers in front of the wide array of television screens. In the center, she spotted her new partner dressed casually in a white collared dress shirt, black trousers and Converse again.

And similar to the first time Sarah saw him; his top three buttons were unbuttoned. Odd how she found herself fixated on certain details.

Moving toward the end, she got close enough to see Chuck bend down and address a young girl.

"You ready," he said. When the child didn't answer, he asked, "What's wrong?"

"I'm usually in the background," the girl confessed and looking a bit frightened.

Chuck's response had sounded genuinely shocked.

"Why?"

"I'm too tall," the girl explained. "I block other ballerinas."

Chuck frowned, dismissing the child's words with a swift wave of a hand like it was some pesky mosquito that was only in the way. "Can I tell you a secret? But you can't tell the other girls. Real ballerinas. Are. Tall."

At that moment she found herself dangerously attracted to her new partner causing a memory to bubble up to the surface.

"_Five minutes." Carina warned. "Five minutes with him Walker, you'd fall for him too."_

She closed her eyes.

_Shit!_

* * *

><p>Chuck spotted her the moment she walked into the store. Although Director Langston is technically his boss, he took most of his orders from General Beckman and occasionally the both of them together. She had given him a heads up early this morning that a third player were joining their ranks and that it was none other than Agent Sarah Walker. He was excited and a little nervous.<p>

The first time they met had been a little awkward. He knew he was being sized up, which was the natural course of things whenever colleagues learn of his name. He lived in such a closed bubble that he didn't often interact with other operatives unless a mission required it, and as a result, the name Charles Carmichael developed a reputation that came off more James Bond than it ever should.

Their second meeting was almost worst than the first, and he was determined to shed some light on the secrecy surrounding his person. Obviously, he couldn't reveal he was the Intersect then but he did want to alleviate whatever concerns Agent Walker had about Bryce's association with him. It didn't help that he knew a lot of her work history and that he aided secretly as Bryce's tactical or technical support on missions that caught a slight hiccup. He even flashed on a one of her mission reports, feeling guilty when he did. It wasn't on purpose and he couldn't help it. Sometimes the Intersect can be very invasive when it didn't have to be. He was taking it up on faith that Sarah Walker was forgiving, or at the very least lenient.

Before he could greet her though, he was pulled aside by his childhood friend Morgan and the current Buymore Sr. Supervisor asking for his help. Apparently, a ballerina needed to be saved.

By the time he was finished and the father of the child was sufficiently appeased for resolving his video camera problems, he turned to face Sarah who stood like a Goddess next to the Nerd Herd desk. Suffice it to say, he nearly geeked out.

Mentally slapping and then reminding himself that he was indeed an evolved species, he approached her.

"Sarah."

He was ecstatic that she returned his greeting with a beautiful smile.

"Chuck."

Since they've already met, code phrases were entirely unnecessary. He was grateful, sometimes those phrases can come out downright cheesy.

"It's good to see you," he said, the distance between them closing.

"You too. You disappeared rather quickly the last time we saw each other."

Chuck smiled, remembering. After returning with them to the mainland from South America, he took off for Corpus Christi too meet up with his partner for an entirely different mission.

"Duty calls, I guess. I'm sorry I had to leave so quickly." In a failed attempt to contain his smile, "Am I forgiven?"

She laughed, and then nodded.

As a last second decision, he moved to hug her but...

What ended up happening afterwards turned into what an outsider would describe as an awkward two-step dance as one or the two of them tried to decide exactly just how to physically greet one another. They knew each other, but they weren't exactly buddies or even confidants. They were going to be a team, but they haven't been around each other long enough to know each others signals. Likes or dislikes. A handshake didn't even feel right.

Thankfully, Sarah stepped it up for him.

"Why don't you just let me hug you, Chuck?"

It was obviously meant rhetorically because before he knew it, Sarah was in his arms. She was soft. And warm. And just all around very perfect. And then her voice went low when she spoke in his ear "I'm sorry about Bryce."

The name brought him back to reality with a quick mental jerk.

"Thank you." He whispered back.

Bryce.

Chuck had tried not to think about what happened, but knowing that his friend is alive and will get better made it easier, and because Bryce Larkin is just too stubborn to die before he's good and ready.

A moment later they parted and he couldn't look away. Even Morgan's whistling in the background couldn't distract him.

"Oh, did you have a safe flight?"

Sarah nodded. "First class. Commercial, no less."

He smiled widely. "Nice."

"So the Buymore?"

"Yeah." He smiled, looking around the retail establishment that in a way, have felt like home these last few years. "Wait till you see the sub-levels." Sarah looked like she wasn't quite sure if he was being serious or not, and he laughed. "Believe me, you'll love it."

He took her hand, ignoring the crazy jolt of energy that seemed to passed between them at contact and weaved her through the store with ease, employees sidestepping to let them by and customers slicing through without so much as a graze. He was used to the crowd, and in turn, the crowd was used to him.

Before long, they were in the back room, lines of shelving units filled with products.

"Are we allowed back here?" Sarah asked out of the blue.

"We should be or else heads will roll."

Sarah tilted her head like she was expecting a more thorough explanation. Then he realized she didn't know. Figures the Agency would send her here and tell her the basic of information which amounts to almost nothing.

"I own the place," he answered quickly, maybe even a little dismissively.

Sarah displayed the kind of purposed control that all agents seem to carry, and along with it, a steady voice. "You own this place? The entire store?"

Chuck can detect that teensy bit of disbelief in her voice and proceeded to elaborate. "Yup. About a year after I graduated, and by complete happenstance just so you know, the previous owner was caught double-dealing underneath the table and maybe uh... cutting corners on his tax forms..." he tried to explain with as little details as possible. The previous owner, though not of the terrorist variety, was knee deep in debt and making one bad decision after another. Because he had a head for numbers and a tendency to solve puzzles, the result had him unexpectedly acquiring the Burbank Buymore store.

Coincidentally, it transferred ownership to him with the Agency's help when he was staunchly arguing against overseas long-term mission ops, much preferring to be close to family and friends. If he was going to risk mind and limb on a science project his employers weren't even sure was going to work on him, he was at least going to do it on his terms.

"Anyway, long story short, I found that the Buymore was built above underground tunnels that was decommissioned decades ago, so the Agency let me have the Buymore while they took care of things down below. It's actually a pretty good cover. I don't need to be here all the time and when I'm not, the employees don't wonder why I'm gone."

Sarah just looked at him blankly and at this point he was pretty sure she was just going with the flow.

* * *

><p>BURBANK, CA – CASTLE<p>

Chuck introduced her to their underground base, and the place that'll technically be her office for the foreseeable future. Chuck had wasted no time introducing her to the highlights from the main floor.

"So this is Castle. Obviously, it's our base of operations." Chuck said, his enthusiasm slowly overpowering what should be a professional demeanor. It was kind of cute. "It's equipped with almost everything we need. Holding cells. Infirmary. Armory. Gun range. Dojo. And all that jazz."

"It's hard to believe you've been operating in Burbank the entire time." Sarah observed, avoiding to showcase her surprise if she could help it. "Underneath the Buymore."

It was mind-boggling, and a bit of a genius move. Who would think the CIA operated underneath a national chain store.

"Yup," he replied, popping the 'p'. "So what do you think?"

"It's impressive."

Sarah has barely settled into the main room but she knew her words told the truth. Not only after discovering that he owned the Buymore and that even the CIA made the transition go smoothly, she was also starting to get an even better grasp at how important this Intersect is. Not just as it pertains to Chuck, but the technology itself. She even admits that it sure beats having to work in a hotel room or some cave in the desert. Not since working with the CAT Squad has she participated in an operation so thoroughly accommodated.

"We're a bit two-fold. I know you're used to international fieldwork, and that really won't change other than the fact that we do operate domestically as well. I hope you have your flyer miles card. Get ready to build up a lot of mileage."

Sarah worked hard to withhold a smile. "I didn't even know we could."

Chuck actually pouted.

"Unfortunately you're right, we don't. Wish we could earn miles though. Alas, the pros and cons for saving the world quietly."

"I hardly call what we do quiet."

"It can be."

Chuck pulled out his gun and she was stunned, finding that his choice of arms wasn't the same government issued sidearm that most operatives use. Even in South America, she distinctly remembered him using an actual loaded rifle.

"You use a tranq gun?"

"Most of the time."

"So it's a personal choice?"

He nodded and then smiled. "Not really a big fan of bullets. Plus. Less paperwork."

The revelation explained his low casualty rate and she couldn't help but admire him for that. Most would frown, and even criticize his seemingly pacifist nature but he looked undeterred. Obviously he knew how to defend himself and use dangerous weapons if need be, but apparently, if given a choice, he chooses life over death.

Admirable.

And maybe a little suicidal.

"So it's only the three of us?"

Chuck nodded. "We do have access to tactical teams for back up if they're needed, but we're pretty much operating on our own and..." he trailed off and she felt that there was something more he wanted to say but didn't.

She didn't press for more than was absolutely necessary for her.

"So who handles maintaining all the computer and building systems? Don't tell me the geeks upstairs."

Chuck feigned a look of offense.

"First of all. _Nerds_. We're called nerds. Hence the 'Nerd Herd.'"

"And there's a difference?"

"Absolutely." He steps aside and pulls up a pamphlet lying on a nearby table and holds it out to her. "It's in the Buymore company employee manual. Nerd Herd."

She couldn't help it, she laughed.

"You're funny, Chuck."

His shoulders slagged, his arms started swinging back and forth and his smile turned shy.

"Well, I'm a funny guy."

"Good, because I'm not. Funny, I mean."

"Really? Because I've been trying to figure you out."

"Not much but what you see."

"I'm fairly sure that's not true."

Sarah tried to remind herself to stay professional and to stop the sudden turn of flirtation occurring between them. But it was hard.

"If you say so."

"I do," he said with a nod. "I'm glad you're on the team, Sarah."

"Me too."

Then the inevitable awkwardness set in and she wasn't quite sure where to go from there. Thankfully, Chuck had the foresight to carry on.

"Speaking of team, Sarah, let's introduce you to our other partner." Chuck took her hand once again, his grip firm, yet gentle and led them through a hallway and into a firing range. "Major John Casey." He spoke aloud. "Casey, this is Sarah."

Sarah's body stiffened the moment her eyes locked on the NSA Agent who had just finished reloading his gun and released Chuck's hand rather abruptly. The atmosphere suddenly changed dramatically.

"We've met," they both said simultaneously, glaring at each other.

"So Graham's assigned us his wild-card enforcer."

Sarah crossed her arms and took a step forward. "And I see the NSA still has a cold-school killer on retainer."

Casey looked unfazed by the retort.

"The CIA must be desperate to bring you in."

"Huh, I'm just surprised you haven't broken a hip yet."

Casey growled.

Chuck suddenly got between them, looking from one to the other.

"Whoa there, guys!" With arms held up, giving both agents a wide berth Chuck looked between the two of them adding an incredulous expression. "_Seriously_. We're on the same team here. Don't make me make you go to your corners and maybe wear a ridiculous pointy hat like a couple of third graders."

Casey's eyes steeled and kept his eyes on her. "Back away, Bartowski."

"What are you going to do, shoot me?" Then he turned his brown-eyed gaze to her. "And I expected better from you."

Properly chastised and not at all liking it, Sarah stayed utterly silent on the matter not even realizing that the NSA Agent called Chuck by another name. It would've been nice for the Director to warn her that she'd be working alongside Major John Casey. They've had a couple not so pleasant run-ins in the past, most resulted in her knocking him out or cutting him off mid-shot during a pseudo joint-mission. She couldn't help that she's better than him, as childish as that might be.

"Now Casey, what do you say?"

Naturally, he said nothing.

"Sarah?"

She sure as hell wasn't going to say anything either.

"Okay," Chuck said, looking suddenly too cheery for her liking. "I'll take both your silence as an apology."

The cute bastard even smiled.

Sarah never fooled herself for one moment that this was going to be easy.

**To be Continued...**


	4. Chapter 4: Trial by Fire

**Author's Note**: Thanks again everyone for the lovely reviews and the interest you've given the story. Since I had this chapter already completed, I thought why not. I'm gonna post this sucker. lol The whole of the story is more character driven so I hope you guys are not expecting some elaborate save-the-world plot. I'm afraid I'm not that creative. As a reminder, POV's change with the line breaks. If you spot an XXX, the POV's remain the same.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own any of this.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4: Trial by Fire<strong>

Burbank, CA - CASTLE

In the main conference room, the CIA Insignia disappeared from the large flat screen and was replaced by the faces of their superiors. Direction Langston Graham of the CIA and General Diane Beckman of the NSA.

"Welcome team," General Beckman was the first to speak. "Agent Walker, I assume everything is in order."

Sarah nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

Chuck kept his eyes focused straight ahead, avoiding eye contact with both of his partners, not at all looking forward to explaining the obvious tension in the room if the General or Director made note of it. Casey was still on the offensive, and Sarah, in turn, defensive against him. It was akin to a grade school playground with those two. The atmosphere hadn't changed no matter how much he had tried to alleviate it.

"General Stanfield will be attending an important banquet tomorrow night in Los Angeles," General Beckman spoke. "Upon request, they've asked for additional assistance. The three of you will attend as part of their security detail."

The name triggered a flash, a series of images and information about General Stanfield followed by a headache that was becoming a nuisance. Beside him, he could practically feel Casey's excitement.

"Looks like he's arriving tonight," Chuck pointed out, the pain in his head slowly subsiding.

"Is the General targeted for assassination?" Casey asked, his trigger finger literally twitching.

"No, Casey."

And then the excitement deflated with a large pop, or more like a growl. A brief glance to his left saw Sarah looking at them oddly and realized she must not know how the Intersect works. He put a mental thumb tack on that and filed away an explanation for Sarah later. In the meantime...

"But it's better to be safe than sorry," Chuck added, hoping to salvage the importance of tomorrow's mission in Casey's eyes.

"One other thing," the Director chimed. "It pertains to you and Agent Walker on the field."

* * *

><p>"I'm sorry about that."<p>

Sarah looked at Chuck and wondered why he was apologizing. "About what?"

"Our cover when we're on missions. I didn't know until you did that we'd have to pose as a couple. If it gets uncomfortable for you, just let me know and we'll work out an alternative."

Sarah smiled but thought it strange that a warm-blooded male was not on board with the idea of a cover relationship on the job. Bryce certainly had no qualms about playing the role of Mr. Anderson to her Mrs'.

"I appreciate it Chuck, but it's not a problem."

"You sure?"

She figured that as far as covers go with people she hadn't exactly worked long-term with, it was hardly far from the worst things she had to do.

"Yes, it's fine."

"Okay." He nodded, taking putting the issue to rest. "By the way, about earlier. You're probably wondering about that flash I had."

"Flash?"

"Yeah, that's what I call it." He pointed to his head. "The Intersect at work. A name, image or even a person's voice can trigger it. A whole list of intel just sort of runs through. A life savor on a mission, but problematic when I just wanna get take-out."

She blinked.

"Wait a minute, the Intersect works that fast? Just like that?" She was astounded to finally see the Intersect at work, even though at the time she hadn't realized what it was. "That explains so much when we first met. And you remember it all?"

Chuck nodded, sheepish.

"It helps that I have a high memory retention rate, but I'm by no means an eidetic."

The surprises keep on coming.

"Also, uh..." he started. "Casey..."

Right. The whole showdown earlier today, she recalled.

"You don't need to make excuses for him. I didn't exactly come off happy to see him either."

"He and I had been partners a while," Chuck revealed. "Out of the two of us, I lean more towards human relations. If its not some new fancy gun coming off a weapons lab, I'm afraid Casey is a bit resistant to change."

His concern was sweet but entirely unnecessary. She could handle John Casey.

"It's more than that," she admits, feeling unnaturally forthcoming with her thoughts. "He and I don't exactly have a pleasant working history. You were right to call me on it, it was _not _very professional of me but put us in a same vicinity, and we get very adversarial—"

"Competitive," he offered as an additional observation.

Sarah reluctantly nodded. "Right."

But she had not expected Chuck to continue. "Combative. Antagonistic. Sarcastic. Fierce. Unmerciful."

"Okay, I get it," Sarah snapped.

Chuck laughed and his laughter was so contagious; Sarah's irritation slowly disappeared and was replaced with barely contained mirth so she tried to settle for a chuckle.

"Point taken."

"Not the welcoming you expected, huh?"

"I've had worse."

"I bet."

Chuck looked thoughtful for a moment, and before the silence between them got awkward, he gave her a lopsided grin.

"Well, let me know if you two decide to have it out. I'll make myself scarce far... _far _away."

"I'm surprised you'd need to duck and cover. I've seen first-hand that you can take care of yourself."

"Pfft. You should've seen me back in college. Girlish screams and perpetually stuck in a constant state of anxiety were the norm for me."

"I find that hard to believe."

"It's true."

She didn't believe him.

* * *

><p>Stanford University, 2000<p>

Chuck Irving Bartowski was rushing to make it to his class. He'd overslept after a night of studying, and then following up on a lot of drinking. His head ached and he silently vowed never to let Bryce convince him to go bar hopping during exam week ever again. He'd caved when for all of two weeks; he had basically ignored everyone, including his roommate and even his girlfriend, to study. It was his first year in Stanford and he didn't want to disappoint Ellie and himself by getting behind on his assignments. Bryce had reasonably argued that he'd studied enough; but after the first bar they went to and then the second, it started to go downhill by the third.

Taking a sharp turn into another hallway leading to his aforementioned class, he bumps into another person.

Chuck apologized profusely. "I'm sorry Professor Fleming. I was in a hurry." He knelt down to help him gather the scattered papers he caused to fall on the floor due to his lack of attention and impatience.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?"

Chuck shook his head. "Umm… no, sir. I attended one of your lectures earlier this year." It was a lecture on imaging, and he had found it fascinating.

He picked up a loose photo and looked at it.

"The Mona Lisa. It's pretty cool how you did this."

Professor Fleming looked at him with surprise. "You can identify the image in this photo?"

"Uh… yeah."

Chuck was suddenly handed another photo.

"What about this?"

It took him all of a second to tell the Professor what it was. "An old Dodge pick-up truck in badly need of a new paint job."

Professor Fleming blinked. "And this?" he added.

Chuck was finding this sudden impromptu testing to be a little weird but humored him anyway. He was afraid he was going to be late for class regardless.

"Hey it's Smokey the Bear..."

"Amazing."

"Yeah, I have a soft spot for the bear too."

"No, I meant you."

It was his turn to be surprised. "Me?"

"I've shown these types of pictures to hundreds of students, but no one has been able to see beyond the surface. Until now."

"Oh. Well, that's cool." Chuck looked at his watch and groaned at the time. "Look, Professor. I got to go. I have an exam in a minute and I don't want to be late."

"Of course. Of course."

He hadn't known it then, but that encounter changed the course of his life, and his future, forever.

XXX

"Ready for your jump, Recruit?"

Chuck kept his eyes focused toward one singular location as the plane jostled around. The turbulence did nothing to alleviate the fear and anxiety he was experiencing. It was his first jump off an airplane by himself and until now, he was able to keep any girlish screams from coming out by going to a happy place in his mind.

"Want to head back now, Recruit?"

"Really?"

"No." The Instructor deadpanned. "Get your ass over here and make the jump!"

With great reluctance Chuck stood up and slowly made his way to the open door that kept him from nothing but air, cold and winds. He ignored the taunts of other recruits and was at least thankful he didn't eat breakfast. That way, he didn't make an even bigger fool of himself than he already has.

"You've done this before with a partner. Now you're on your own. But you've had the training. You can do this, Recruit."

Chuck swallowed, and nodded silently.

"All right."

It took some time to jump out, but eventually, he made it through and amazingly enough, he's still alive.

XXX

"Bryce, what are you doing?"

"Chuck!" Bryce turned, looking very much like he a child caught in the cookie jar. His friend slowly made his way further from the bed. "You're back from your date early."

Chuck's eyes drifted to his sleeping area, having caught his friend sneaking something underneath before he had spoken his name. He didn't want to think the worst, and thought it was just his roommate playing a prank but there was just something in Bryce's guilty look that made him think otherwise.

He reached his bed and lifted the twin mattress and his own eyes widened at the papers underneath.

"Bryce, what is this?"

"It's not what it looks like."

The look he sent back to him was enough to make him come clean.

"Okay, it is," Bryce admits.

Not wanting to incriminate himself by touching the papers, he stared at Bryce in disbelief. "Why would you do this? You know what the rules are. I could get expelled for having these."

"I can explain."

"Please, do."

Chuck crossed his arms, and waited.

"I had no choice, Chuck. They're going to recruit you."

Chuck's brows rose in confusion. "Recruit me for what?" He paused, and then a light bulb flashed in his head. The papers should have been evidence enough. He'd also gotten a call half an hour ago from Professor Fleming about why he hadn't come to his appointment, which was why he had come back from his date with Jill early to meet with him. Bryce probably heard the message first and deleted it. "Oh, you mean the CIA!"

He found it humorous that Bryce's mouth fell open the way it did.

"Jesus!" Bryce said, understanding dawning on him. "They already recruited you."

"Yeah," he confirmed and then smiled, realizing what this meant. "Apparently so have you."

XXX

"Why am I doing this again?"

"Because you're my best friend and its your civic and moral duty to support me," Bryce said as they ran and jumped their away above rooftops.

Free running was Bryce's latest obsession and made damn sure he tagged along with him whenever they weren't on active training with the CIA. It wasn't part of any curriculum they were learning from the Agency, and Chuck was not entirely happy about it but his friend was intent on becoming a world-class field agent, and according to him, practice makes perfect. Chuck just wished he wasn't dragged along at 1AM in the morning almost every time Bryce felt the urge to become daring.

They continued to run and jumped at the next ledge towards the proceeding building. Bryce had gone first, landing elegantly onto the steel balcony.

He grudgingly followed, his leap just short of completion and he ended up hanging off the rail with one hand while Bryce reached down to grab the other to pull him up.

"You okay, buddy?"

Chuck stopped. "I think I strained a muscle." He took a few deep breaths and stretched in an attempt to recover his momentum. "This can't be legal, what we're doing."

"It's only illegal if we get caught."

Chuck sighed.

XXX

"An alias? Is that really necessary?"

"Project Omaha is a highly sensitive government operation. It's for your protection as much as anyone else. Look at it this way; at least you'll be able to choose the name."

"But I like my name."

His training officer sent him a look of pride. "Not many people do. Good for you, Bartowski, but still, I recommend it. Go with an alias."

After a moment to think it through, "I got one."

"What?"

"A name."

"All right." His trainer hands him a set of forms. "What will it be?"

"Carmichael," Chuck said, writing it out, getting a feel for it. It kind of felt nice. "Charles Carmichael."

His trainer smiled.

"Not bad, kid. Not bad at all."

XXX

"God dammit, Carmichael! Get a move on it, we don't have all day!"

"Look, I'm going as fast as I can. Stop bellowing."

They never taught "how to diffuse a makeshift bomb in 30 seconds" course at the Farm. If they had, Chuck was sure he would have paid attention. Luckily, this particular bomb was directly linked to a computer.

Computers he can do.

"I thought you were some kind of genius."

Chuck zoned the Major out, ignoring the fact that he wasn't even a fully-fledged agent yet and was unceremoniously woken up from a dead sleep no less than 7 hours ago. So he did what he did best and just kept his concentration on the desktop that was currently counting down the last remaining seconds before the bomb goes off. His fingers flew over the keys, not missing a single stroke and with less than 10 seconds to spare, miraculously, he managed to override the system and lock it down.

Disaster averted.

God, he was so sleep deprived and a little hungry that he didn't think his mind could even process that he just diffused his first real live bomb.

"Cutting it a bit close, don't you think?"

Chuck bit back a retort and realized, _Christ, I could be dead right now_. He looked to the Major and wondered if the man is as sour as he makes himself ought to be. He supposed the Major was simply very committed and that's definitely something he can admire. Besides, he didn't stop the bomb, CIA trainee Charles Carmichael did and it felt pretty good.

XXX

Before earning his badge, the CIA wanted to give him as much experience in the field, especially after the whole near-death-with-a-bomb fiasco so they paired him up with a seasoned veteran, DEA Agent Carina Miller. It turns out she wasn't as experienced as he was led to believe and that not only was Agent Miller a bit rough around the edges, she has only been with the DEA for a couple of years and was an insanely beautiful brunette who took levels of crazy to another level that rivals Bryce's.

"Sleep with me, Chuck."

In response, he nearly choked on his soda.

"Is this a test?"

"No." Her body language would make Roan Montgomery proud. "Would you like it to be?"

After Jill, he didn't think he could risk himself out there with another woman, especially a woman of Carina's questionable intentions. Instead, he made in no uncertain terms that he'd prefer if they were just friends.

He could tell she didn't like that because now, she's made a mission out of trying to 'bag him' as she would say.

_Maybe she'd be interested in Bryce,_ he thought to himself.

XXX

He was sleeping rather comfortably after the upload. The painkillers the CIA provided him did wonders for the headache he felt with a computer in his head. He was told the risks and knew that if the upload worked, that they'd be venturing in unknown territory.

"A new science," a CIA shrink assigned to him described.

Truthfully though, he was just happy that he's alive.

_Buzz._

At a table nearby, he gets a message from his cell. Flipping it open, he realized it was Bryce. The message was brief and spoke volumes more than any lengthy sentence could.

_Help._

Hell, what did Bryce do now?

Quickly, he made his way to his lap top and linked to one of CIA's reconnaissance satellites. Tracking the message, he found Bryce in Malaysia. Ten minutes in and a lot of hacking later, he managed to assist his friend and his partner get out alive, and hopefully relatively unscathed.

He'd hear about it soon enough.

XXX

"Major John Casey will be your new partner," Director Graham said. "The NSA want one of their own to be involved. You've worked with him before."

"Ah! I remember. He's the big guy who kept yelling at me to stop the bomb."

The Director almost smiled, and anytime he could make his boss break routine is a win in Chuck's book.

"Construction of your new Base is almost complete." Chuck is handed a file. "All the relevant paperwork is there. The Buymore is officially yours but you'll have to delegate most of your duties to your staff. We want you and Major Casey field ready as soon as possible. Congratulations _Agent Bartowski._" The Director emphasized his name knowing that from now own, with the Intersect fully active, he will no longer be referred to by the name of his birth by his superiors. "You drove a hard bargain, but you got it."

"Thank you, sir."

"Be careful out there."

"I will."

It was a whole new world from this point on.

* * *

><p><em>PRESENT DAY<br>_

Chuck followed Casey back to Echo Park residential district after an eventful yet tension-filled afternoon at Castle. Their apartment units were side-by-side and while their normal routine had them separating to their own humble abode, Chuck decided to brave the storm.

Casey's door slammed closed, an inch closer and it would have busted his face. But since he was used to his partner's grumpy moods, he simply reopened the door to let himself in.

"Casey."

He spoke like a parent ready to admonish a child. Sure, Major John Casey happens to be a grown stubborn trigger-happy Reagan-era-obsessed monster-of-a-child.

"Not now, Bartowski."

Casey downed a glass of Johnny Walker. Black.

Chuck stayed put. "See, that just makes me do the opposite."

"No way am I working with that CIA nut job."

Chuck's eyes narrowed, his tone changing to one of stern edge. "That's uncalled for, John."

Casey gritted his teeth.

"She's Graham's wild-card enforcer for a reason. She's unpredictable, Bartowski. We'll get Beckman on the line and get someone else."

"You're overreacting." Chuck scoffed.

"Find someone else."

"Who? Carina?"

Casey sent him a deadly glare. "Don't even joke about that."

"First Sarah. Now Carina. And they just so happen to belong to different agencies. Do you just not get along with female agents?"

"She tied me to a bed post in my underwear," Casey mumbled beneath his breath.

Chuck's eyes widened. Casey wasn't normally one to share stories that didn't involve the glory days of his Reagan years or is supposedly perfect sniper record but this...

"Sarah tied you—"

"No the other one."

"Carina tied you to a-"

"No need to repeat what I said, idiot. I was there."

Chuck threw his arms up. "Okay, big guy, you obviously have issues concerning women in general so..." He moves to leave. "And don't get too drunk, we have a mission tomorrow and I'd like to come out of it in one piece."

Casey grumbled.

"Cut Sarah some slack here." Chuck tried to reason once more before closing the door. "She's a perfectly good agent who I happen to trust and she's a part of the team now. So no more random acts of violence and be the better man."

"You trust anybody."

"Come on, that's not true. I don't trust Jeffster."

"They're not of the same species, so they don't apply. Bottom line, I don't trust Walker."

"You don't have to trust her, just trust me okay."

Casey growled and he took it as his signal to leave it at that.

**To be continued...**


	5. Chapter 5: Fight or Flight

**Author's Note**: Another day, another update. I didn't really get a chance to thoroughly beta this, so if you see any glaring mistakes, my apologies a head of time. I've been a bit busy for the last few days. Hope you like it. Also, if anyone is interested, I'm almost finished with a one-shot I've been writing that puts Sarah's POV in the first person and deals with Sarah having a relationship with Chuck prior to the events of the Pilot episode. Hopefully, I'll have it up in a couple of weeks.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own any of this.

**Chapter 5: Fight or Flight**

After a successful evening thwarting what they eventually discovered was an assassination attempt against General Stanfield and saving countless people from a bomb, the new team headed back to Castle for their debriefing. After all was said and done, Sarah left the room with Casey and Chuck not far behind.

"Don't go there, Chuck," Casey warned.

Chuck could already tell he wasn't going to like what his friend was going to say. Anytime he called him by his first name generally brings about red flags.

"Go where?"

"I saw how you were looking at Walker during our mission tonight. Don't let your lady-feelings get in the way. It's a distraction."

"That's-"

The look Casey gave him brooked no argument but he was not one to follow orders that do not make sense.

"She's new to the team. I was just-"

"Ogling her. Yeah, I noticed."

"I respect her as an agent and this whole conversation is totally unwarranted. She doesn't even think that way about me. We're colleagues. Don't forget that we barely even known each other."

"Just keep your mind on the mission, Bartowski."

Oh, so it's _Bartowski_ now.

"There will always be a mission, Casey," he says, feeling irate. "And so what if by some miracle she considers me datable, I'm not her asset or her subordinate. We're equals."

Casey's reply to that was to narrow his eyes and leave with a growl.

* * *

><p>"Welcome to Casa de Bartowski." Chuck gestured around his home, which from Sarah's view was only the living room and an open kitchen separated by a bar counter. "The spare bedroom is down the hallway to your first right." He took her bags and placed them behind the couch. "Feel free to use anything you need."<p>

Sarah was still trying to process everything she just learned during the first day of officially being apart of Chuck's team. The most unprecedented discovery was his name, which quite frankly just about trumped disarming a bomb using porn (which was impressive, BTW) . Turns out, in reality Charles Carmichael was really Charles Irving Bartowski. The former being his alias on the field and the latter used for his regular day-to-day life. She had initially thought it was another alias until Casey continuously addressed him by Bartowski a few times just prior to leaving for their mission to save General Stanfield.

The second surprise of the day was Chuck's insistence that she just room with him at his residence when he discovered she was currently being housed at a hotel 10 miles away. He thought it was a waste of tax-payer dollars and that his home had more than enough space for the two of them. Being just above modestly wealthy, he had explained that he renovated his unit to have an additional bathroom and that his spare bedroom was currently unused. She was at first resistant but the thought of getting to know Chuck more in his surroundings as well as the added benefit of a faster travel time to Castle was too good to pass up.

Now she was afraid of what living together would entail between the two of them.

Moving around his apartment, Sarah picked up a framed photo. "Who's this?"

Chuck made his way to her and glanced at the picture frame in her hand. "Oh, that's Ellie. My sister. She's a doctor at West Medical with her boyfriend. She actually lives across from us."

"Does she know what you do for a living?"

"Beyond the Buymore. No. I've tried to convince our bosses to let her in on the secret since she specializes in neuroscience but no luck so far. They are open to going over that option in the future though. I mean, right now, with Fulcrum's influence growing, they don't want to involve anyone with the Intersect project unless absolutely necessary."

"So how would you like to explain to her about some random woman moving into your spare bedroom?"

Chuck's eyes practically sparkled. "I say we brainstorm. You need a notepad?"

"I think I can keep up."

She sat on the lazy boy chair while Chuck plopped right on the sofa looking like a patient preparing to be cross-examined by a therapist.

"Okay. Since we've actually met a couple times before, I think it'll be easier not to stray too far from the truth."

"I agree." Sounded practical enough. "So we met in Miami."

"Ah huh." He nodded. "A couple of years ago. Gone on a few dates, maybe." He was on a roll now. "Stayed in contact every once in a while. I also brought you Casablanca lilies on our first date."

Sarah raised her eyebrows at that. "That's very... detailed. Why Casablanca lilies?"

"Because it means celebration, and what better to celebrate a first date with than that."

His answer was quick and remarkably well-answered. How long had he been thinking about this?

"You're a romantic?"

"Hey. My sister raised a gentleman," he defends but not looking the least bit offended.

Sarah couldn't look away.

She liked that about him too.

Moving in with him didn't seem like a good idea now.

XXX

"Chuck, what is the matter with you?"

Sarah's patience was reaching its limits. She wanted to understand her partner and one of the best ways to do that was to spar with him. Surprisingly, he didn't often get down and dirty in the field. As it happens, Chuck was a natural strategist. His quick thinking and even quicker execution of a plan on the spot is nothing less than astonishing given the amount of pressure and adrenaline that normally accompanies their missions. So she wanted to see what he was really like one on one. No distractions. Just two seasoned agents taking each other on. How he moved and reacted, generally, the way he fought could tell her a lot about a person in the field and perhaps maybe even off it.

So far though, he only moved.

A lot.

But he doesn't react, which was disconcerting. On top of that, she hadn't been able to connect a blow and that was really annoying.

"Well?"

"Nothing," he said, fists raised but unused since they started.

"Chuck, this isn't the kind of sparring I'm used to. If I wanted a prop, I would've stuck to the punching bag."

"Don't get your panties in a twist, Walker," Casey said, watching them merrily off in one area. She knew the NSA Agent was enjoying the sight of her _trying_ to hit Chuck and failing. "Chuck's a good fighter as any. He just doesn't hit girls."

If her eyes could bulge out of her sockets, it would.

"Excuse me?"

Chuck shrugged, unapologetic.

"How have you survived in the field this long?"

Chuck lowered his hands and looked every bit the offended male that he was. "I've survived quite well, actually."

Hell, she's up for a challenge.

"Fine. We'll see about that."

They'd barely restarted their session when the scent of popcorn drifted in the room. She and Chuck both turned sideways to find Morgan sitting beside Casey, sharing a bowl.

Casey said nothing, apparently content to simply wait until the fight started while Morgan munched away, clearly excited.

"I… uh…" She shook off her frustration and refocused on Chuck. "Let's just get this over with."

Chuck looked positively dejected. "Do we have too?"

He readied his stance anyway, adjusting his foot placement and raising both fist in front of him to guard his face.

Before there was another strange interruption, she sent a front and snap kick following it with a roundhouse to the head but Chuck had blocked and dodged accordingly, his concentration as focused as hers but never advancing to return the attack.

Jab. Cross. Hook. Knee. And different variations in between.

It went on for about five minutes.

Both their adrenaline was pumping, feet bouncing lightly on the mat to let the blood flow.

Sarah noted Chuck's avoidance abilities impressively, but that wasn't endearing him to her in the least. She sent another set of combos and just when she thought she was starting to get the upper hand, Chuck surprised her by locking her elbow, ducking underneath her arm and kicking her left ankle forward, causing her to lose balance and dropping her ass on the mat with her back in front of Chuck's, who at the same time went down on one knee with him pinning her arms behind her.

Morgan clapped while Casey sent her a smug grin.

"Just because he won't hit a girl, doesn't mean the boy doesn't know how to do submissive holds."

"Yeah," Morgan Grimes says preparing to add his two-cents. "His entire method of dealing with opposing aggression is tiring them out and then frustrating them."

"Can we stop now?" Chuck pleaded, releasing her arms.

Not only was she annoyed with the unwanted commentary, she went about getting rid of it by getting up, grabbing Chuck's arm and throwing him over her hip, his body creating a loud thud on the mat.

"Yes," she breathed, more relaxed now. "We can stop now."

Chuck wisely stayed on the floor until she left the dojo.

XXX

The hotel room was a mess.

Lamps broken.

The legs of the only table in the room were snapped in half and have no chance of recovery.

One mirror shattered into pieces.

Sarah was not looking forward to the seven years of bad luck that would bring and the call she'd have to make to clean and replace it all up. She was also fairly sure that Chuck had homeowner's insurance so perhaps she didn't have to make a call to the CIA at all.

"Why is it every time you come to visit me, we end up bruised, battered and bleeding on the floor?"

"Probably because outside of the job, you're a boring person."

Sarah sighed. "Carina. What are you doing here?"

"What? I can't visit a friend?"

Silence.

Carina folds first.

"Okay. Fine. A birdie told me that you're Chuck's cover girl. That true, Walker?"

"Cover girl?" She repeated, disliking the label. "Birdie? Carina, what are you going on about? And who exactly told you about me and Chuck?"

"So it is true."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Hardly. It's just a cover. Chuck and I aren't any kind of anything. We're colleagues. Partners. And it's just a job."

"Sure," Carina said, clearly unconvinced.

"It's late and I'm tired."

Sarah lazily got off the floor and started brushing off random pieces of broken debris off her person and then headed to the bathroom.

"Oh, we are so not done yet." Carina said, following her. "You can't possibly think that I believe you wouldn't tapped that. If I were in your position, I totally would. You're living with the man!"

"Don't be crass, Carina." And just to point out, "We have separate bedrooms."

Knowing Carina though, Sarah didn't doubt that except her friend couldn't be farther from the truth. Three weeks working together and she still didn't know if Chuck was interested or not. He was polite and generous, endlessly so. A complete gentleman but he wasn't overt. He never tried to force intimacy or even take advantage when they were acting the part. They haven't even gotten passed chaste kisses.

Most of all, he was content to let her take the lead.

In one word.

Frustrating.

And it doesn't help that tonight, he showed another facet of himself in an arena she always prided herself to be the best at. He's great defensively but he's a reluctant fighter. On top of that, there were other moments he'd do something so unexpected, whether on a mission or having dinner with friends or his family, that she would have the out-of-character urge to jump him.

It was becoming ridiculous.

And very unprofessional.

Bryce had been her longest relationship to date but she was by no means inexperienced. She's aware that she's attractive. Beautiful even. There were more than a few times where she even had to take advantage of that aspect of herself to help aid in a mission. Of course she's not as sexually promiscuous as Carina, but the situation at work was becoming more problematic every day.

"So you're not going to sleep with him."

"Wow, you've got a one-track mind. Why would you think I would? And besides, Chuck doesn't strike me as a guy who'd sleep with every attractive female that throws themselves at him." She points to Carina. "Case in point."

Carina responded by childishly giving her the tongue.

"And I will not throw myself at him," she added as an afterthought.

Carina's eyes turned positively mischievous.

"So you do like him."

Before Sarah could deny it, there was a knock on the door and she settled for glaring at Carina just before she opened the door.

She knew she should have installed a peep hole or at least some kind of video camera on the outside.

"Chuck. What's going on?"

Chuck was dressed to the nines, minus a dress tie. What remained consistent since the day she met him were the top buttons of his dress shirt. They were unfastened.

"What's the occasion?"

"Dinner," he replied. Oh, she had forgotten about that after their sparring session tonight. "Tonight we're going out with Ellie." He held a bouquet, and her heart nearly leaped out of her chest at the sight. Casablanca lilies. "I changed before heading home. It's for our cover," he added, looking at her curiously. Other than the sudden spike in her heart rate, Chuck was probably wondering why she looked disheveled, sweaty and all around not looking good. "Uh... should I ask what happened because last I recall, you left Castle perfectly in tact."

She was about to reply when the obnoxious sound of her friend's voice permeated the room like a sonic boom.

"CHUCK!"

Like before, Carina threw herself at Chuck and Sarah had to hand it to him, he took it all in stride.

"Carina," he said, laughing. "Ah, let me guess. Sarah came home and had an unexpected guest break in and a fight to the death ensued?"

Sarah refused to dignify his fairly accurate guess with an answer. Carina of course had other plans.

"I'm also here to get the 4-1-1 on you and Sarah."

"Really?"

He looked to her with a bemused smile on his face.

"And what have you discovered?" he continued to ask Carina but his eyes stayed on her.

To her mortification, she squirmed just a tad bit by his gaze.

"She's in denial."

At this point, Sarah had to clear her throat.

Loudly.

"I'm standing right here."

Carina ignored her as usual. "I hadn't noticed."

She rolled her eyes.

XXX

"I'm sorry about Carina."

Chuck didn't look bothered at all. "It's no problem. She can be a handful."

"You're a brave man to be able to work with her all these years."

Chuck shrugged. "It's cool. She's really not as difficult as Casey makes her out to be. And besides, it's only every once in a while." He took off his dinner jacket and draped it over her. "Here, you look like you're getting cold."

She was touched. His kindness and his complete lack of pretense continued to make her head spin.

"Thanks."

Dinner had been fun. It actually almost always is around Chuck and his family, and it's made even better with the endless amount of stories Ellie had of her brother growing up. Even the embarrassing ones. Chuck hadn't been the only one to be ridiculed though, and returned the favor with a few stories about his sister as well. Between both siblings, they had countless stories to tell.

They were walking in comfortable silence for a couple more minutes when they ran into Lou. The Sandwich girl.

Sarah knew the tell-tale signs of a girl with a crush, but being the gentleman that her partner was; he remained polite and open but not once indicating that he was interested in being more than just acquaintances. When the interaction ended, Sarah had to ask.

"Do you really not notice it or are you just oblivious?"

Chuck looked like a deer caught in the headlights by the question.

"What?"

"Lou's been eying you for weeks."

"Oh, that." He pointed to Lou's retreating back. "No. No. I… uh… was she really?" Chuck looked back, and she can practically see the gears shifting in his head.

She chuckled and delved further.

"Don't take this the wrong way but… are you gay?"

Chuck then seemed speechless and it actually felt nice to surprise him for a change.

"Um… no, I'm not." Then his eyes widened. "Am I giving off that vibe?"

"Honestly. No. You're just very difficult to read sometimes."

"I don't really do casual and with all the missions lately, I've kind of put the whole 'meeting girls' during off hours on the back burner."

"Why? It's not exactly a rule that you can't have a girlfriend." Sarah had to admit that it is often not recommended for field agents, or if one decides to be with a foreigner but with Chuck operating where he both lives and works, his situation could be an exception to the rule.

"That would just be awkward for us," he said, his face quivering. "I can see it now. I'll be out on a date with a girl when I tell her my cover-girlfriend needs me to accompany her to a black-tie shindig in Paris in the morning."

Sarah laughed. "Okay, I could see it would be a problem _now_."

"I'm in no hurry, Sarah. Besides, maybe I'm just waiting for the one."

"You mean, true love? I don't believe in that."

"Come on, there's got to be a bleeding heart of a romantic in there somewhere."

"Sounds messy," she describes with a sour expression.

Chuck grinned. "Doesn't have to be."

"I've got too much baggage to even consider settling down, or something close to it anyway."

"If that's a problem, you can always turn to me. I'll be your own personal baggage handler."

Cue uncomfortable silence.

"That actually sounded better in my head," he confessed.

"As far as pick-up lines go, I'd rate that in the high 10s." Not wanting to figure out the puzzle that is Chuck anymore, she figured she had nothing but her pride to lose and says, "I'm going to ask you out on a date."

Chuck stilled, and looked a bit flabbergasted.

"For our cover?" he replied slowly.

"No. I'm actually going to ask you out."

"You seem upset over that."

"You were kind of taking too long."

"I'm sorry," he says, embarrassed.

"Apology accepted."

"Good." Chuck said and then a huge smile broke out on his face. "So... when exactly will you be asking me out? On a date, I mean."

Sarah smiled, finding the situation both ridiculous yet amazing.

"You'll see."

**To be Continued...**


End file.
